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RearrangingI had the chance to take Wednesday off last week and after a productive morning of writing I took time out for some HGTV. Before and after shows are my favorite. I just love seeing how something average or even awful can be made lovely.

And after a while I start eyeing my own home. We’ve lived here for nearly 14 years and the living room hasn’t much changed in that time. The rug is different. I’ve switched up some cushions and a few knick knacks, but overall it’s the same furniture in the same arrangement.

So I thought about just turning the rug (for even wear). Except that would expose the hole Thistle chewed when she was a puppy. So what if I moved the furniture, too? We’d decided long ago that the current arrangement was the only practical one–but maybe if I just tried it . . .

Halfway through I felt I’d made a terrible mistake. This was a lot of work (especially with Thistle “helping” by standing on the rug as I tried to turn it) and obviously I was just going to have to move everything back when it didn’t look right. But I kept going. And wonder of wonders, the new configuration actually looked pretty good.

So now, for the first time in more than a decade, the living room looks different. And I love it. Which got me thinking about how sometimes, we need a new perspective in our lives. We need to shake things up and look at them differently and just try something new to see if it works. Here’s why:

  1. It keeps us from taking everything for granted. Now I notice the lamp on the end table and really see the photos that had simply become part of my landscape.
  2. We clean out the corners. When I moved that chair that hadn’t been moved in, well, too long, I was able to sweep up the ladybugs and dust bunnies. A new perspective can be a cleaner perspective.
  3. We can see what works and what doesn’t. I tried the sofa table along the wall near the front door, but the door bumped it. Then I tried it in front of the windows, but it was in the way of the shutters. Finally, it found a spot on the far wall where it’s ideally placed for viewing the photos arranged across it. The only way for me to see what a good spot it is was to TRY it.
  4. We learn new things. I discovered an effective method for getting the rug pad straight under the rug. I learned that placing furniture at an angle can be more interesting. Shaking things up often shakes things out.
  5. It’s fun. Escaping the same old routine, jumping the ruts, getting outside the box–it can really be fun! While new and different might feel intimidating at first, it can also be really exciting. And when you like the results? Awesome!

So give it a shot. Flip on HGTV and consider how you might rearrange the furniture in your house, your office, or even your heart.